Jim Wilson writes: > Now I can take off very quickly (even before it reaches the runway number at > KSFO) just by holding the stick back about half way and it'll continue > climbing steadily once out of ground effect at about 32 kts. Is that correct > for the j3?
Was that 32 kt from the HUD, or 32 mph from the ASI? The J3 cub has a stall speed around 25 kt (roughly 30 mph) and is supposed to be able to take off in a 200 ft groundroll and land in a 300 ft roll under ideal conditions. Here's what the 1946 owner's manual says (see $FG_ROOT/Aircraft-yasim/README.j3cub): (1) For takeoff use full throttle, heading into wind. Airplane loaded will become airborne at approximately 39 M.P.H. Best climb speed is an indicated 55 M.P.H. I just ran a test, and with the stick all the way back, my wheels lifted off the ground at around 32 mph (28 kt) indicated, but as would be expected near the stall the plane was hard to control (in real life, I'd also be worried about the forces on the tailwheel). With more realistic back pressure, the tail lifted first, then the Cub took off around 40 mph (35 kt). Best climb speed (Vx) is 55 mph (48 kt), so you'll want to push the nose forward and fly in ground effect for a few seconds before climbing out. At KSFO, remember, you're flying the Cub from a runway built for 747s -- since it's 200 ft wide, you could take off sideways across it (I just tried and was up with 20 feet to spare). Even at a small airport like KPAO, the 2500 ft runway is far, far more than a Cub needs. This is an airplane that was built to take off from little fields or country roads -- I remember seeing an early ad with drawing of a Cub sitting in a parking lot outside a country store, though that's obviously a bit of an exaggeration. All the best, David -- David Megginson, [EMAIL PROTECTED], http://www.megginson.com/ _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.flightgear.org/mailman/listinfo/flightgear-devel
